Thirteen deputies of the provincial people's congress in South China's Hainan Province have submitted a motion calling for the expansion of a nature reserve housing Eld's deer, a rare breed unique to the island province.

The deputies suggested enlarging Ganshiling Eld's Deer Nature Reserve, situated in Sanya on the southern tip of Hainan Island, to 1,000 hectares, in an effort to ensure healthy propagation of the species.

The move would guarantee healthy breeding of Eld's deer over the next decade, announced the deputies.

Due to current overcrowding, the endangered species has been seriously affected by in-breeding at the Datian Nature Reserve, another main habitat on the central-western coast of Hainan, they said.

The deputies warned in-breeding could lead to the destruction of the species in the event of an epidemic.

Eld's deer used to roam over the entire island, but their numbers dropped to only 26 in 1976 due to a deteriorating environment and increased human activity.

A range of measures have been implemented during the past two decades to protect the species, including the establishment of the Datian Nature Reserve and intensified scientific research on methods to propagate more Eld's deer, as a result, the number of Eld's deer has been steadily increasing.

There are now 1,100 head of Eld's deer in Datian Nature Reserve.

In 1997, Hainan Provincial Endangered Wildlife Rescue and Propagation Centre brought 20 Eld's deer from Datian nature reserve to Ganshiling, previously a plant reserve, in a bid to study problems regarding the adaptability of Eld's deer outside their natural habitat.

The number of Eld's deer living in the Ganshiling Nature Reserve has increased from 20 to 41.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2003)